Photography for Family Reunions
It takes a tremendous amount of effort to plan a family reunion so why rely on on chance to capture all the special smiles and faces that it took so much and so long to bring together. Let us be there for this special occasion to preserve it in detail. You will have the story of the day, individual and group portraits and many, many candid pictures showing each family member at their best, their warmest or their funniest. Once we have all the pictures they will be available for viewing online for all family members to purchase what they like at affordable prices. In addition, we'll put together a DVD slideshow with the whole family event, using the music of your choice as background. Last, we'll create customized albums for each family member that wants one. Our booking fee is $180 for 3 hours on any day other than Saturday, or $750 on Saturdays, with no obligation to buy any more pictures. (Why the difference in price? Because Saturdays are high demand days for many events, including weddings)
RESERVATION LINK: Family Reunion Photography: $180
Information about planning a FAMILY REUNION
1) The Theme
The theme of a Family Reunion includes the following elements:
* The Overall Concept (or theme) of the family reunion
* The Destination
* The Budget
* The Date
* The Duration
These elements determine the high-level scope for your family reunion. Obviously, we need to decide the duration for our reunion (from an afternoon to a week or more) and when it will be.
In addition, everyone needs to decide on a theme, such as golf, sailing, backpacking, dude ranch, or any other common areas of interest. The renting from the owner of a vacation home, villa, or condo continues to be a popular and cost effective option.
And, the final small detail... how much can we afford to spend. To go into greater depth for the first building block of a Family Reunion Idea, select the Theme.
2) Planning
Planning a Family Reunion includes the following elements:
* Who Will Do What
* The Planning Time Frame
* Communication
* Organizing Travel For Your Group
* The Main Coordination Tool
These elements address who will do what activities during the planning time frame, and how will all the information be communicated and coordinated? This is no small venture, however; there are terrific tools available to help you.
To go into greater depth for the second building block of a Family Reunion Idea, select Planning.
3) Logistics
Unless you are all traveling as a group, getting to a Family Reunion includes the following elements:
* Making airline reservations (alternatively: train, bus, or family vehicle)
* Renting a vehicle at your destination
* Lodging decisions (hotel, motel, camping, staying in home of family member)
* Keeping children occupied while traveling helps immensely and maintaining everyone's sanity. For more details, go to Logistics.
These elements address all the details concerning getting from where you live to the family reunion destination, and where you will stay once you get there.
To go into greater depth for the third building block of a Family Reunion Idea, select Logistics.
4) At the Destination
Once you have decided on a Family Reunion destination, the following elements become important:
* The Date of the Reunion
* What else is at the destination (you know how bored I get)?
* Activities, or "What else can I do after beating up cousin Jimmy?"
* Photography "must haves"
These elements address the activities and how best to photographically capture the reunion.
To go into greater depth for the fourth building block of a Family Reunion, select activities.
What is a Family Reunion Theme?
Don't worry... we're not talking about "themes" like a "Pirate Theme" where everyone comes dressed as their favorite swashbuckler, and meets on a deserted island in the Caribbean.
The theme you will need to decide upon involves a location, major activity focus, and length of time that will be agreeable to your entire family (or, just you if you can pull it off).
A family reunion theme can be obvious. If everyone has spent their summers at gramps' summer home on the lake in Wisconsin, you already have a natural "theme" for your reunion.
If there hasn't been a consistent physical location or activity for your family, then it will be very similar to planning where you want to go on your vacation... only bigger.
Before going much further, realize that examining possibilities, communicating with every family unit, and coordinating all the tasks will not fall solely on your shoulders (unless you want them to). We will cover many tools within these five building blocks that will help you on your reunion journey.
Scope: How big will your family reunion theme be?
Will every single member of the family, stretching back 4 generations, be invited? Or, do you want to have only one "vertical family unit" (one set of grandparents, their direct children (and spouses), and the grandchildren)?
Obviously, any combination or grouping is up to you, but it does need to be decided. One suggestion... if this is your first family reunion, you may want to start small, get the hang of it under your belt, and expand the scope for future reunions.
Speaking of future reunions, one of the most creative ways I've found for preserving the memories, lessons, and connections formed during a family reunion is with something called "OurStory."
OurStory weaves together the concepts of family reunions, journals, pictures, family events, and scrapbooking to create your life history on a graphical pictorial timeline.
Location: Where will your family reunion theme take place?
I suggest you first choose a general location focus (mountains, beach, lake, in the USA vs. outside, camping/non-camping). Then, get specific as to the exact beach, mountain, or lake.
Non-Camping Accommodations for your family reunion theme
Before deciding on the final destination, you probably want to check out some general accommodation details for your family reunion theme:
* Is there an indoor and/or outdoor pool?
* How close to the airport is the facility?
* Does the facility provide shuttle service to and from the airport, as well as local attractions?
* What are the on-site sports facilities (golf course, tennis courts, weight room, exercise machines, game room, volleyball court, etc.) and related charges?
* Does your group qualify for group rates?
* Do any family members have discounts for travel or accommodations (through work, associations, clubs, credit cards, etc)?
* Are there any other discounts your family can qualify for (off-season, hotel membership affiliations, etc.)
* Can children stay free?
* Are there any off-site facilities that are available to guests of the facility?
* Are meeting rooms available, and are they complimentary?
* If needed, is the facility wheelchair accessible?
* What is the smoking policy?
Camping Accommodations
Before deciding on the final campground, you probably want to check out some details:
* Is the campground open during the dates of your family reunion theme?
* What are the fees?
* What accommodations and hookups are provided (BBQ, ice, restrooms, showers, water, electricity, etc.)?
* How far in advance does a reservation need to be made?
* What activities are located near the campground? (And, if you're taking kids with, keep them occupied with fun kid camping activities.)
Timing: When will your family reunion theme take place?
Summertime is most popular because the kids are out of school. However, there are Spring and Winter school vacations as well as 3 or 4-day weekends during the year. And, this will naturally lead to...
Duration of your family reunion theme
Anything from 1/2 day to 2 weeks falls within a family reunion theme. As you are probably beginning to understand, the timing and duration are very interrelated to our next major decision...
Budget
How much can everyone afford? The process is just like planning a regular vacation.
You may want to go on a 5 week cruise around the world, but shelling out $34,000 for you and your family isn't going to work this year.
The one part of the budget you probably won't have to worry too much about is the photography end of things.
As mentioned throughout this site, you can take all the digital photos you want... you only have to "pay" for the ones you want to keep.
Understanding all the costs of your family reunion theme
The costs/person (airline tickets for example) is simple to figure out. However, there are also trickier cost considerations. Some are just for your family unit (number of hotel rooms, size/type of rental vehicle).
Others costs will be expended by a few people, but need to be shared by all (postage - unless email can be used, long-distance calls, printing, etc.).
Costs Covered in other Building Blocks
The budget discussed here should cover 75-90% of the total costs for your family reunion theme. However, things like food, keepsakes, t-shirts, etc. will be addressed in appropriate Building Blocks yet to be examined.
This completes the Family Reunion Theme building block. Let's move on now to...
To Produce
Unique & Stunning Photos
However, to start the process going, consider these popular photo collage themes:
* Thanksgiving and Christmas with Family and Friends
* Vacation photos
* Children's school plays, parties, and Halloween
* Pets, focusing on one activity, such as playing, sleeping, running, etc.
* Hobbies and Things of Special Interest
* Automobiles or Motorcycles
* Sports Teams
* School activities such as gymnastics
As you can tell, the list of possible themes can go on forever.
10) Determine the menu. Feeding a large group of people with different tastes is perhaps one of the trickiest parts of planning a reunion. Make it easy on yourself by selecting a menu that relates to your theme, or perhaps one that celebrates your family's heritage. Organize a group of family members to prepare the food for the family reunion or, if you have a large group and your budget allows, find a caterer or restaurant to do at least part of the work for you. A tasty menu makes for an unforgettable family reunion.
More: How to Work with a Caterer
11) Plan social activities. You don't need to occupy everyone all the time, but planned activities and ice-breakers at your family reunion will provide an easy way for people who do not know each other well to comfortable spend time together. Include activities that will appeal to all ages and further family knowledge of shared heritage. You may also want to award prizes for special distinctions such as oldest family member or longest distance traveled to attend.
12) Set the stage. You've got a bunch of people, now what do you plan to do with them? It's time now to make arrangements for tents (if an outside reunion), chairs, parking decorations, programs, signs, t-shirts, goodie bags and other reunion-day requirements. This is the time to consult a family reunion checklist!
More: Reunion Planning Organizers & Checklists
13) Say cheese! While many family members will no doubt bring their own cameras, it helps to also make plans to record the overall event. Whether you designate a specific relative as the official reunion photographer, or hire a professional photographer to take photos or videos, you should prepare a list of the people and events that you want recorded. For spontaneous "moments," purchase a dozen disposable cameras and hand them out to volunteer guests. Don't forget to collect them at the end of the day!
More: Better Family Pictures
14) Invite the guests. Once you have most of your plans in place, it's time to invite the guests by mail, email and/or phone. You'll want to do this way in advance to make sure and give everyone time to get it on their calendar. If you're charging admission fees, mention this in the invitation and set an advance deadline by which at least a percentage of the ticket price is required (unless you're wealthy enough to cover all of the costs yourself and can wait until the actual reunion for reimbursement). Tickets purchased in advance also means people will be less likely to cancel at the last moment! This is also a good opportunity to ask people, even if they can't attend the reunion, to provide family trees, photos, collectibles and stories to share with other family members.
15) Fund the extras. If you don't want to charge admission fees for your reunion, then you'll need to plan for a little fund raising. Even if you do collect admissions, fund raising can provide money for some fancy "extras." Creative ways for raising money include holding an auction or raffle at the reunion or making and selling family hats, t-shirts, books or reunion videos.
16) Print up a program Create a program that outlines the lineup of scheduled reunion events to provide to family members as they arrive for the reunion. You may also want to send this out via email or your reunion Web site in advance of the reunion as well. This will help serve as a reminder to people of activities which may require they bring something with them, such as a photo wall or family tree chart.
17) Decorate for the big day The big day is almost here and now it's time to make sure it goes smoothly. Create catchy, easy-to-ready signs to point arriving guests to registration, parking, and important locations such as bathrooms. Purchase or make a guest book to collect signatures, addresses, and other important information, as well as serve as a permanent record of the reunion. Purchase pre-made name badges, or print your own, to facilitate mixing and mingling between unacquainted family members. Family tree wall charts are always a big hit as reunion attendees always want to know where they fit in to the family. Framed photos or printed posters of common ancestors or past family reunions are also popular. And, if you want to know what everyone thought of all your reunion planning, print up some evaluation forms for people to fill out as they leave.
18) Keep the fun going. Designate a volunteer or volunteers to create and send out a post-reunion newsletter with stories, photos and news items from the reunion. If you collected family information, send along an updated genealogy chart as well. This is a great way to get people excited about the next reunion, as well as include less fortunate family members who were not able to attend.
Situation
Most family pictures are of people posing to have their picture taken, smiling or acting up for the camera, sometimes taking it more seriously. Occasionally it is convenient or necessary to pose people, but generally I've preferred to capture more spontaneous moments.
A posed image, but one in where the subject's attention has wandered. (© Peter Marshall, 1980)
You can get more interesting pictures by photographing people doing things - talking to each other, working or playing games. If you are working for publication, then you will want to be suggesting various activities, getting people to dress up and to play roles for you.
It may be possible to photography people you know while at work, but make sure if you do that you get permission from their employers to do so. A picture of your Uncle Alfred might not be of great interest or likely to sell, but there are far more possibilities if you can photograph him at work. Especially if, like my Uncle Alf, he has an interesting or unusual job; he was a commercial beekeeper, but unfortunately died before I learnt to use a camera.
Although I didn't photograph him, I was able to take pictures some years later of his widow - my aunt, also now long dead. These are pictures that have a great deal of interest for my family, but also I think touch on wider issues that make them of interest to others. As well as photographing her, I also took pictures that showed the house she had lived her married life in, full of the photographs and other memories. Like her, the house was a survivor from another age, still furnished in the same style as when they had moved in almost fifty years earlier. I've used a couple of these pictures as illustrations to this feature.
Gestures
Perhaps the most important thing to watch for in photographing people are gestures. In particular you need to watch what people do with their hands and arms, but also to be aware of the rest of their bodies.
A mother at work. (© Peter Marshall, 1980)
Children are usually easy to work with, and will usually soon start to ignore the camera if they have other things to do. This happens with adults also, but it may take much longer.
Expressions
The most obvious area of any pictures of people and the one that catches our attention first are their faces. It is interesting to watch people and to see their different expressions, and then you can decide how you want to photograph them. Occasionally it is good to have a good row of teeth in a big smile, but your work will gain interest by capturing a range of different moods.
This is probably the aspect most people try to control in their pictures, by telling people to smile, or even to say "cheese" or some other words, or by trying to get people to laugh.
There have been some well-known portrait photographers who have deliberately ignored or neglected their models, simply waiting until they composed themselves in front of the camera (Andy Warhol took this to extremes in making movies of several hours duration this way.) Paul Strand's subjects seldom smile, but just stand there, becoming almost monumental. However it is generally better to make conversation and even try to provoke people - or to wait until someone else does so - and then to take your pictures without disturbing the interchange.
Make decision to have a Reunion
- WHEN will it be held?
- WHERE will it be held?
- HOW long will It be?
- WHO will be invited?
- COMPILE mailing list (database of family members)
- SEND "Save The Date" Notice
Establish Committees
- Involve members from each branch of the family; get input from, and involve, the young family members.
- Set a timeline for completing tasks or assignments
- Committees meet as needed
- Establish back-up or contingency plans
- Host Family, Coordinator
- Financial - Select the Treasurer
- Program [Theme, Reunion Colors, Schedule of Activities, Banquet Program/Speakers/Script, Picnic, Church Service, Tours, other activities based on your family’s interests and for all age groups]
- Lodging/Hospitality
- Registration [name badges, goodie bags]
- Decorations, Flowers
- Food - Meals, Refreshments [Catered? Pot Luck?]
- T-shirts, Other Keepsakes
- Reunion Booklet, Family Directory
- Family History - Information & Exhibits/Displays
- Other (Video, Photography, Banner, Prizes)
- Clean-up
Communication
- First, an immediate mailing should be the "Save the Date" notice. Thereafter, send out information updates periodically
- Include due dates for response, as well as a return mailing address
- Include tidbits of information about family ancestors
- Give clear instructions on how to order reunion items
- When making arrangements with service providers, confirm everything in writing. Be specific!
Finances
- Set a budget and registration fee schedule
- Include copy of budget in an early mailing
- Request bank to open a free, temporary checking account in the name of your reunion
- Keep reunion funds separate from personal funds
- Can also consider a permanent account if you decide to establish a family association
Schedule of Activities
- Contact the local Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as the local Chambers of Commerce for information regarding sightseeing tours and other activities, printed information, and hopefully, promotional giveaways.
- The first activity sets the tone for the reunion. Make it festive. Have get acquainted games. Assign committee members to act as greeters
- Allow for "free" time, especially for a first reunion. This allows folks to just talk and get acquainted or reacquainted and allows for informal sharing of family stories. In other words, don’t have something scheduled for every minute of every day.
- At appropriate point, re-emphasize the times for various activities
- Provide written directions to activity locations
- Tap into family talent pool
Lodging
- Contact local hotels and request a block of rooms be held in the name of the reunion
- Negotiate group rate
Goodie Bags
- Request promotional giveaways and printed information from local Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chambers of Commerce, or local businesses
- Download information from internet
T-shirts
- Design - reflect reunion’s theme and colors
- Prepaid? Pre-delivered, or pick up at reunion?
- Possible fundraising activity
Reunion Booklet
- Cover designs
- Welcome
- Outline of activities
- Banquet program
- Welcome letter from local officials
- "In Memoriam" section
- Family history
- Family directory
- Family business cards (support our own)
- Acknowledgments
- Family photos
- Other
Photography
- Formal photos: family elders, group photo, other
Video
- Recommend professional videographer
- Include on-camera testimonials from attendees
Speakers
- Invite local officials - formal welcome
- Banquet keynote speaker
Publicity
- Pre-reunion press release, and/or
- Post-reunion newspaper article
- Internet postings
- Family newsletter
- Other
Name Badges
- Color-coded by family branch
- Have backup materials on-site
Record Keeping
- Devise organized method for recording and maintaining registrations, keepsake orders, correspondence, confirmations, and other reunion Information
Family Business Meeting
- Decide particulars for next reunion
- Discuss/decide other family business
Ideas For Family Projects
- Repair of ancestral grave sites; headstones
- Establish family Youth Scholarship Fund
- Create family Investment Club
- Make a family Heirloom Quilt
Reunion Prizes
- Person who traveled the farthest
- Oldest attending
- Youngest attending
- First to register
- Most grandchildren
Reunion Wrap-up
- Pay all outstanding bills
- Send final communication
- Include final Financial Report